divert
verb
di·vert
| \ də-ˈvərt
, dī-\
, dī-\
diverted;
diverting;
diverts
Definition of divert
: to turn aside : deviate
studied law but diverted to diplomacy
1a
: to turn from one course or use to another : deflect
divert traffic to a side street diverting funds to other projects
b
: distract
trying to divert her attention
2
: to give pleasure to especially by distracting the attention from what burdens or distresses
children diverting themselves with their toys
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Examples of divert in a Sentence
Police diverted traffic to a side street.
The stream was diverted toward the farmland.
They were charged with illegally diverting public funds for private use.
He lied to divert attention from the real situation.
They're only proposing the law to divert attention from important issues.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Aubameyang's movement in the box allowed him to get away from Tottenham's defense and the Gabon forward diverted Guendouzi's cross past a helpless Lloris. — Matias Grez, CNN, "Arsenal comes from two goals down to earn draw against Tottenham," 1 Sep. 2019 The area in Dorian’s path is not a major center for tourism, although several cruise ships diverted their routes to avoid the storm. — Elisabeth Malkin, New York Times, "Northwestern Bahamas Braces for Heavy Hit From Hurricane Dorian," 31 Aug. 2019 Parking lots also were closed, diverting show-goers into an overflow lot down the street at Northfield Stapleton Mall. — Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post, "Phish fans brave plague-related drama for Labor Day weekend shows," 30 Aug. 2019 The project is the first construction of new border barriers on federal lands using funds diverted from the Defense Department under President Trump's national emergency declaration. — Stefan Becket, CBS News, "Construction begins on 30-foot border wall in fragile Arizona desert," 29 Aug. 2019 In 2014, Sebesta and another man were charged with grand theft on allegations of diverting $177,942 from the Catholic missionary group Lay Mission-Helpers Assn. to a bank account in the name of Sebesta’s son. — Julia Sclafani, Daily Pilot, "Huntington Beach man, a former church chairman, charged with stealing $11.4 million from church assets," 27 Aug. 2019 Shareholders, not ratepayers, will pay for the bonds because the company will divert some of their profits, PG&E says. — J.d. Morris, SFChronicle.com, "PG&E wants to gradually add $30 per month to the average residential bill," 26 Aug. 2019 Those policies and programs range from diverting funds to build a wall to reducing aid to Central America. — Heather Timmons, Quartz, "Meet the man ready to battle Congress in support of Trump’s immigration strategy," 20 Aug. 2019 In recent months it was forced to apologise to China for diverting packages belonging to Huawei. — The Economist, "FedEx’s visionary founder is a disrupter at risk of disruption," 15 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'divert.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for divert
divert
verb
English Language Learners Definition of divert
: to change the direction or use of (something)
: to take (attention) away from someone or something
: to take the attention of (someone) away from something or someone
See the full definition for divert in the English Language Learners Dictionary
divert
verb
di·vert
| \ də-ˈvərt
, dī-\
, dī-\
diverted;
diverting
Kids Definition of divert
divert
transitive verb
di·vert
| \ də-ˈvərt, dī-
\
\
Legal Definition of divert
1
: to turn from one course or use to another
funds illegally diverted
2
: to place (a defendant) under a diversion